True Rating: 4.5 stars.
Blake hit it out of the park with this series. I adored Iris's book, but it felt like there were some hiccups that didn't work as well for me, so let me quickly get that out of the way.
Stevie's friends are LITERALLY the WORST!! They were not very good friends honestly. The fact that her ex was part of that group didn't help at all. But they were a bigger downfall to this book than I wanted.
My other tiny gripe is that I needed another chapter or two at the end to flush out a tiny bit more. I just felt like our final couple needed a little more grounding at the end.
Other than those 2 small complaints, this book was GOLD!! Iris and Stevie had chemistry in all the right ways, and I adore a good fake dating trope. Getting Iris's perspective after her friends had found their people helped endear me to her a bit more, and I adored Stevie so much.
If Blake does another adult romance series, you bet your butt I am going to read it.

Iris Kelly was the perfect addition to our Bright Falls trilogy. I sorely missed these characters and had just enough of Delilah, Claire, Astrid, and Jordan in this story along with our new characters.

Iris is such a relatable and messy and beautifully formed, complex character. Her finding a new artistic outlet as an adult made me feel all kinds of happy things.

I also loved the anxiety representation in our love interest (sweet cinnamon roll Stevie), the different types of queer identity and love, and the exploration of communication and healthy relationships.

Thank you so much for the early access on netgalley! I was so grateful to dive headfirst in this story!

I love this series so much! This is an open door LGBTQIA+ romance with fake dating, GAD rep, and some deep themes of being enough and being the boss of your own story.
Iris Kelly is the third in a trio of BFF (the FMCs of the other 2 books). She’s creative, uninhibited, and done with relationships. Feeling like a disappointment, she just wants the acceptance to live life on her own terms. Instead, she is stuck trying to write her 2nd romance novel and feeling listless. After a pretty rough one-night stand attempt with adorably nervous Stevie, a fake dating scheme unfurls when they end up as the leads of a community theater’s queer reimagining of Much Ado About Nothing. Stevie is healing from the end of a 6 year relationship and trying to navigate her life with an anxiety d/o. She wants to save face with her ex and get more comfortable in sexual/dating scenarios. Iris wants to be inspired by going through the stages of a relationship to help her writing. As the lines of what is real and fake start to blur, can Iris and Stevie move through their own personal struggles to be good for one another?
What I love most about Ashley Herring Blake’s writing is her ability to craft characters encompassing the full spectrum of what it is to be human. They could lift right off the page! Iris and Stevie are great FMCs who make each other better. I loved reading about their journey, and OMG they were so romantic! Real swoony. And steamy. As always the secondary characters are AMAZING! The bff’s (and now their partners) are a great group who lead with love, history, and taking no BS. Stevie’s friend group also added an interesting dynamic. Plus, other than family members, I think every single character was LGBTQIA+ which was fab.
I highly recommend this book! And REALLY encourage you to read the other two in the series as well. I read them in order, however they stand alone/out of order.
Thanks to NetGalley for the free ARC! Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date comes out 10/24/23 so go ahead and add it to your pre order list!!

Continuing with the story of our favorite sapphic friends, Iris Kelly Doesn't Date tells the story of outgoing, anti-relationship Iris and anxiety-ridden actress Stevie. The two are the perfect pairing and their chemistry is absolutely stunning. Ashley Herring Blake has created such well-rounded and believable characters that you want them to be part of their friend circle. The story was nicely complimented by a moderate steam-level. And who doesn't love a fake dating trope! The perfect ending to this sapphic series.

4.5 out of 5 stars!

Rep: Bi MC, lesbian MC with anxiety, side characters of various sexualities, genders, and ethnicities

Content warnings: On-page sex, toxic friends and family members, lack of communication between partners, panic attacks, vomiting, getting drunk, past infidelity (not from a main character)

What a perfect way to wrap up this series! There's so, so much to love about this one -- the smut! The romance! The cameos from past characters! The representation throughout it! The anxiety rep in particular is extremely well done; Ashley Herring Blake clearly either has an anxiety disorder herself or worked closely with someone who does.
Despite her lack of communication toward the end, I adored Stevie. I saw so much of myself in her as a fellow anxiety-riddled sober lesbian. Actually, I'm not sure I could name another sober character from a romance novel, so this meant the world to me.
I'm in the minority on this, but I don't really care for Iris. On one hand I VERY much relate to not meeting family's expectations, feeling pressured to be in a relationship, and panicking that the dynamics of a friend group will change. I love how thoughtful she was when first getting to know Stevie and how she never treated her anxiety as an inconvenience, and of course her sweetness at the end. But on the other hand, she can be so incredibly whiny and selfish. She made Delilah and Claire's announcement about herself. Plus, people reminding her to have safe sex isn't slut-shaming (it's being responsible) and her friends noticing that her actions don't line up with her words isn't telling her what to do (it's being caring). The amount of self-sabotaging was through the roof and extremely difficult to read. Maybe it's just because I'm autistic, but I truly don't understand why characters don't say what they mean, possess even a little self-awareness, and go to therapy when they have the means to do so. I mean, I understand in terms of plot and tropes and all that, but I wish it was more common to write healthier characters, or at least not have third-act breakups.
However, these are just my own personal preferences and not any type of reflection about the writing itself. It was as glorious as ever! I am extremely excited for this to publish next month so I can swipe up the whole trilogy, which is easily my favorite sapphic series.

**HUGE thank you to Berkley for granting me an eARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!**

I really enjoyed the other books in this series, but I’m afraid this one has several of my least favorite romance tropes/characteristics:

* An anxiety-ridden main POV character. I’m all for representation of mental disorders in fiction (Stevie has diagnosed GAD), but can we please get some variety? It seems every other romance heroine has anxiety. And genre fiction is meant to be an escape. Stevie was so worried for so much of the novel that it was often hard to enjoy.

* A third-act break-up.

* Annoying secondary characters. In this one, Stevie’s manipulative ex and Iris’s entire asshole family.

* Much angst caused by the main characters seemingly willfully misunderstanding each other / not having a simple conversation.

I recognize that these are just my personal pet peeves, though.

The best part of the book was the scenes where Iris and Delilah, this series’ two snarkiest characters, sassed each other.

I have loved the Bright Falls series from the first chapter of Delilah Green Doesn't Care and though I am so sad the series is over, man oh man was this the perfect ending! Iris Kelly is struggling to write her second romance novel so seeks inspiration at a queer bar, where she meets Stevie. Their first night together goes rather terribly due to Stevie's anxiety and they never expect to see each other again. That is, until Iris shows up to audition for a role in a community play where Stevie just happens to be playing the lead and the director is Stevie's ex who thinks that Stevie and Iris are dating. What happens next is a fake dating, beautifully and messily queer love story that feels so real.

Fake dating is a trope that I've read quite a bit of this year, so I'm always excited when I find a unique twist on it - I can't quite put my finger on it but this book really made this trope feel different! Instead of just fake dating, you also get a "lessons" trope and it's pretty clear from the beginning that both Iris and Stevie have deeper feelings for each other.

Read this for:
- Fake Dating
- Lessons
- Small town
- Theater setting
- The BEST friend group
- So much Queerness
- Anxiety Rep

The "will they, won't they" of this may annoy some people but I honestly think it is really accurate to reality - Iris is terrified of love - so terrified that she makes decisions that she thinks will protect her but end up hurting her even more. Honestly I just love messy queers so much that I was eating this up! The anxiety rep that we see with Stevie is honestly top notch! It is so good and I loved seeing her stand up for herself at the end of the book.

I would also be remiss to review this book and not mention the SPICE. The spice in Ashley's books has always been great but this one I think is special - there are certain things that happen in one scene in particular that we don't often see in traditionally published romance and I was so excited to see it here!

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Iris Kelly Doesn't Date publishes on October 24, and is not one to be missed! I can't wait to see what Ashley Herring Blake writes next!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Berkley for providing me with an e-arc of this book.

I loved both Delilah Green Doesn't Care and Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail, so needless to say this was one of my most anticipated releases. The hype was very real for me. When I got my approved email for my request for the earc, I may have jumped up and down a few times and excitedly texted all of my friends, and told my parents that replied with a "ok I have no idea what that is".

So, as you can tell, I went into this book with very high expectations. And let me tell you those expectations were blown away. Iris kelly Doesn't Date quickly became my favorite from the series, and I knew that by 20 percent of my way through. Stevie quickly became one of my favorite characters in this series, and her and Iris have now become my favorite couple out of the three we have read about. I do not think I will ever get enough of these characters and their dynamic relationships to each other.

One of my favorite things about this book, and the part that cemented this as my favorite of the series, was the representation of Stevie's anxiety. I have had anxiety for years, and I related so deeply to Stevie and her inner thoughts and worries. I could tell Ashley put a lot of thought into this character, and truly cares about this topic. I felt like Ashley camped out in my brain for a few days, rooted around for my thoughts, and then wrote those down in this book. (Ashley, please feel free to come visit again, although I apologize for the thoughts you may have seen...)

Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes, and I know it can be overused and get old. But something about this book just made it seem like the trope was unique and not overdone.
I cannot wait to see if Ashley writes anymore about these characters. Frankly, I would read their grocery lists if it included their wonderful banter.

The Bright Falls series gets a truly beautiful ending with Iris' story. I loved following her and Stevie as they broke through their limiting beliefs and found acceptance in themselves. A perfect ending for this franchise I'll deeply miss.

Fake dating relationships are often used as a plot device to create tension, conflict, and emotional growth for the main characters within a romance. These relationships, especially ones where the leading ladies are trying to deceive their family and friends, can provide an effective framework for the story arc to expand. When done creatively, the result is something that’s not only compelling but entertaining for readers. This is definitely the case with Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date. Ashley Herring Blake does a fine job arranging all the critical components in this romance, making it unfold gracefully on the page.

Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date is the third book Blake has created in the Bright Falls universe. Even though this book nicely compliments the other two set in this realm, it can easily be read as a standalone. Anyway you slice it though, the Bright Falls story world offers a great escape. Blake has taken care to give it an appealing depth, supplying it with richly developed character histories and subtle power dynamics that enhance the storytelling, resulting in something that easily resonates with readers.

Even though the fake-dating trope is a favorite trope among sapphic readers, it sometimes can feel forced and contrived. Blake, however, manages to sell this one to her readers without pause. Quite simply it works because Blake allows Stevie and Iris the proper time and space to explore their feelings for each other in a safe and controlled manner. The characters properly test the waters and gradually develop a deeper emotional connection without the usual kinds of pressure. When they do openly admit their true feelings, they are ready. This is important. It helps build the relationship naturally, giving the women room to breathe. In the end, readers don’t feel like the relationship is rushed or forced; they buy into it and it feels credible, just as any romance should.

One of the major reasons Stevie and Iris work in this story is because they play off from each other so well. Together they create the necessary dramatic tension that’s essential in credible, engaging romances. As the characters navigate the complexities of their fake relationship, they may find themselves developing genuine feelings for each other. This leads to internal conflicts as they struggle with their own emotions and external conflicts as they try to maintain the facade of their relationship. It all lends itself to some compelling scenes, ones in which readers are pulled into the narrative and stirred to want more.

Even though this is a lighthearted story, Blake does tackle some tough subject matter: self-worth and anxiety. Kudos needs to be given to Blake for the way she pens these weighty issues into the scenes and dialogue. She employs generous compassion as the inner workings of these characters are revealed. Stevie and Iris’s vulnerabilities aren’t just splashed across the page. They are carefully scripted with impact, enhancing the storytelling with sensible sensitivity. Though Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date is meant for light reading, these women still leave an impression.

Finally, literature lovers can appreciate Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date’s antagonist. Adri (Stevie’s ex) is well written and well designed. She’s complex but readers see her for what she is—passive aggressive, manipulative and controlling. However, Blake understands that she can’t alienate Adri from the readers. She doesn’t want Adri to be so off putting that she’s distracting, so she softens her a bit and puts her through her paces. The bottom line though is this: Adri is the correlative part of Stevie’s story, and by extension, she becomes Iris’s too. Adri facilitates cohesive and believable conflict for the pair, conflict that slows the forward motion of the story ever so nicely. Ultimately, her presence makes Blake’s storytelling better in subtle but measured ways.

Final remarks…

Overall, this fake-dating sapphic romance allows Blake to explore themes of self-discovery, self-confidence and true love in unique and compelling ways. It’s a fun, fresh perspective on an old trope, and readers will most certainly find Stevie and Iris’s story entertaining. I would not hesitate to recommend it.

Strengths…

Well-written
Heartwarming
Entertaining
Investable, likable characters
Tackles tough subjects (anxiety) with grace and compassion

*Thank you to Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!*

Oh man, I've been looking forward to this book since [book:Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail|58800142], and I was not disappointed.

This book follows the life of the third of the Bright Falls trio, Iris Kelly. In the previous two stories, Iris hasn't really had great luck in the relationship department: her long-term boyfriend in [book:Delilah Green Doesn't Care|54756850] wants marriage and babies (something that Iris emphatically does <i>not</i> want, and then there's Jillian, the adultress who was just using her for sex in [book:Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail|58800142]. Is it any wonder that Iris swears off dating?

And then there's Stevie Scott, an adorable thespian six months out of a six year relationship, who is looking to get over her ex. Unfortunately for her, her anxiety disorder makes it hard for her to do that.

Insert the meet cute, an audition, and a dash of fake dating, and you have the incredible start of this book which (predictably) ends with a HEA.

Now, there were a lot of things that I greatly enjoyed about this book (and I'm going to try to keep this spoiler free):
<blockquote>• This has probably <i>the</i> most diverse cast of the three novels.
• Herring Blake's depiction of generalized anxiety disorder is done carefully and in an informed way. Stevie is not a hot mess with anxiety as an excuse: you actually see the ways it impacts her life, her decision making, and her relationships.
• Adding on to the above: no one tries to <i>fix</i> Stevie. Instead, they meet her on her level (well, mostly, but more on that later).
• I appreciate Iris' steadfastness to what she wants and what she does <i>not</i> want.
• God, I fucking love Delilah. And Claire. And Astrid.
• Simon!
• The whole concept of an all queer production and interpretation of Shakespeare.</blockquote>
Now, for the things I was less yay about:
<blockquote>• Adri. I disliked her and the way she treated Stevie and the way she treated Vanessa. She's just toxic, and I truly couldn't find any redeeming qualities in her.
• Iris' mom. While I, as a parent, recognize wanting your child to be happy, happiness isn't the same as being partnered up and married. There are so many different ways to be happy, and so many kinds of love that are just as fulfilling as romantic love. I wanted to scream at Maeve until she understood that.
• The pacing. Time feels a bit wonky in this. I think it's supposed to take place over the course of a year, but until the end, we don't really get a whole lot of time markers. (And if we did and I missed them, that's on me.)</blockquote>
Overall, I absolutely enjoyed this and you should definitely pick it up when it comes out in October!

Ashley Herring Blake ate and left no crumbs. What a great conclusion to an amazing series. Iris and Stevie are without a doubt my favorite couple from the trilogy, both as pair and separately. Their characters are so carefully written as to explain all their behaviours without a hitch. Both were easy to relate to, and easier to get attached to.

I also loved the friend group we’ve come to know throughout the trilogy coming together and reading the Easter eggs from the previous books. It made me emotional to see how all couples ended up becoming and I’m grieving not being able to read more.

Anyways, this is my favorite WLW romance series and it’ll forever hold a special place in my heart. I’m grateful for NetGalley and Berkley to have lend me an ARC in exchange for an honest book review.

Wow, I am so blown away by this one. I loved this--heck, I would even say this is the best in the series. That never happens! The last book is never the best! But I honestly think this one is.

This book follows Iris Kelly as she struggles with her lack of romantic relationships while trying to write a romance book, and settles for one night hook-ups instead. Everything changes, however, when she encounters a woman named Stevie at a bar, and has what is undoubtedly the worst hook-up of her life. Things only get more chaotic when she auditions for a play, gets the staring role, and finds out that she is co-leading with the very woman that gave her said night. What's more? Stevie drags her into a fake dating senario in order to prove to her friends--and herself--that she can bounce back after a break-up from a relationship that lasted six years.

Iris Kelly Doesn't Date is an adorable, romantic, and tropey-in-the-best-way kind of read. It has it all: fun leads, dramatic tension, and a steamy fake dating romance that kept me hooked until the very end. Iris and Stevie were a joy to follow, with both growing into their own and becoming more than what many define them as. Iris was never my favorite from the other two books, but she really shines here, and her and Stevie's relationship was so much fun to follow. It wasn't always easy, with jealous exs, pressure from their play, and looming deadlines chasing them down, but it made it all the more enjoyable. And it resulted in a super fun trope-fest that kept me turning page after page long after I said I needed to call it a night.

I honestly didn't know until the last couple of pages that this was the last book in the series, and I am sad to see it go! But trust that this book gives a satisfactory conclusion to everyone. If you are even remotely a fan of the Bright Falls series up until this point, I can assure you that you'll be happy where everyone ends up.

I know I will be gushing about this book for a while!

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review!

Oh my heart! I have loved Iris since the very beginning of Delilah Green Doesn’t Care and I was so excited to read her story. I enjoyed every single second of this book. Ashley Herring Blake’s writing is a breath of fresh air. I cannot wait to read more from her!

I really enjoyed getting to know Iris. She is still the bold and funny character that we all love but in this book we also get to see her vulnerable side. I will always root for her no matter what! Stevie quickly became my favorite! I related to her story so much especially when it came to anxiety. It kind of felt like I was reading about myself at times. Both characters had personal struggles to work through and their growth in the end was fabulous.

Iris & Stevie were so cute together. Their fake dating romance was chaotic but in the best way possible. Their chemistry was there from the beginning but seeing them realize their feelings little by little was sweet!

The epilogue was absolutely perfect! I couldn’t have asked for a better ending to this series. It had me in my feels for sure!

Pub date: 10/24/23
Genre: romance (wlw, fake dating, mental health rep)
Quick summary: Iris has perfected no strings attached - until she meets Stevie and ends up cleaning up her vomit instead of hooking up. Days later, a theater audition leads to fake dating and romance lessons...

This was a fun conclusion to the Bright Falls series! As in the past two books, the author does a great job giving both the protagonists lots of character growth. Iris had a lot of baggage from always being seen as a hookup that she had to work through, and Stevie's anxiety and previous toxic relationship were keeping her from finding a connection. I also loved how the other Bright Falls residents showed up to support Iris and Stevie. This one was a little on the spicy side for me, but I enjoyed the sweetness of Iris and Stevie's relationship plus the continued development of the other Bright Falls pairings.

Thank you to Berkley and @letstalkbookspromo for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ashley Herring Blake's Iris Kelly Doesn't Date is both heartwarming and witty. Throughout the book, Iris' journey to happiness is captured with sensitivity and humor, which is both entertaining and emotional. Stevie's struggle with anxiety is real and relatable making the combination of characters entrancing. Readers cannot help but be drawn into the story by the unique bond these two characters share, which develops into an engaging and heartfelt story.

This is the third installment in Ashley Herring Blake’s Bright Falls series but my first read by the author. Although I am excited to read the other books in the series, Iris Kelly Doesn't Date works well as a standalone. Laugh-out-loud scenes, complex characters, and an atmospheric setting made this a smile-worthy read. Despite their seemingly perfect relationship, Iris and Stevie have a palpable chemistry as the reader slowly discovers there is more to their relationship than meets the eye.

Thank you Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. The characters are well-written and the story is well-developed. It's the perfect escape for anyone looking for a cozy fall LGBTQIAP± romantic read.

Rating: 4.5/5

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers for this Advanced Readers Copy of Iris Kelly Doesn't Date by Ashley Herring Blake!

I really love this series. I was nervous about this book, because Iris was my least favorite character in the earlier books, but Ashley Herring Blake brings so much character and nuance to Iris.

An absolutely perfect final installment of the Bright Falls series, with an extra-extra HEA for our original faves. I *loved* finally being inside Iris’ head, getting to really know her. Stevie is my new Anxiety-Queer hero. I love fake dating and I’ve never seen it done so good. And yeah, you know what? I did cry at the end! But unlike Iris, it’s no secret I’m a softie.

Ashley Herring Blake's Bright Falls series really is just everything to me, the trifecta of queer books I've been waiting my entire life to read. This third, and final, installment won my heart as quickly and as wholly as Delilah Green Doesn't Care and Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail. PLUS! Here is the second FAKE DATING book on this list! You know Iris Kelly, of course. Or, well, you know what she's allowed you to know over the course of the previous two books. And that's kind of the point: Everyone has all these ideas about who Iris is, and she feels compelled to act the part, always, to keep her friends and family as happy as possible. But she's a ginger-haired iceberg; half of her fire has always been buried underwater. Iris meets Stevie, a barista and actress, during one of her nights out clubbing. Flirting leads to dancing leads to Stevie's bedroom, where Stevie's nerves get the best of her and she yarfs before their hookup. It's the worst one night stand ever, and they both think they'll never see each other again — until they meet on stage the next day when Iris decides to audition for some local gender-bending Shakespearian theater.

Stevie is my new favorite Anxiety Queer, and I have a feeling she'll be one of your favorites too. Her anxiety informs so many things about her life, but she refuses to let it control her. She's able to laugh about it ("God, Iris practically emanated sex. Stevie was pretty sure the only thing she emanated was stress hormones."), but she also sheds plenty of outraged tears over it too. It affects the way people see her, it affects the way she sees herself, and no matter how many strategies she tries to manage it, sometimes it gets the best of her. Iris teaches Stevie how to embrace the power of her sexuality. Stevie teaches Iris how to not FREAK OUT when holding someone's hand. If you think Love Is a Lie, you better stay away from this book because it will 100% convince you otherwise.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book and provide and honest review.

Goofy and sexy while still packing a hell of an emotional punch. Iris and Stevie couldn't be more different, and their effect on one another is really compelling. Like in the previous two books in the series, each character starts out strictly defined, their behaviors dictated by old habits, older traumas, and what their loved ones have come to expect from them, and their wildly out-of-character romance helps them break out of their typical roles and really evolve.

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.